From the perfect start to the finish line
by I'll send postcards
Summary: To you, the zombie apocalypse may be the most horrific thing that has ever happened; the end of the world. But to Judith lil' ass kicker Grimes, one of the first children to ever grow up in this madness, it's all she's ever known. This has been her world from the time she was born, but how long can she get away with tempting fate? One shots throughout her life-TAKING REQUESTS!
1. Chapter 1

_Shadow settle on the place that you left_

_Our minds are troubled by the emptiness_

_Destroy the middle, it's a waste of time_

_**From the perfect start, to the finish line**_

* * *

Two figures lay on the ground, or at least what was left of them. Almost nothing was left of the decaying corpses. Shattered bones littered the ground, many with flesh still clinging to them. Blood was everywhere, painting the ground bright crimson. A rib cage full of cracked bones was still attached to a severed spine. There was an absence of organs, but a half consumed heart lay a few feet away from the mess and a stretch of intestines was strewn about the ground, mauled at one end. Farther away there was a severed human hand still clutching a broken knife.

Stepping over the pile of bones and half consumed muscle, the child walked on. She looked small, but her arm and leg muscles showed her life of constant movement. Her cream colored arms reached up and tugged at her hair tie. An avalanche of dark chocolate hair tumbled free in a tousled mess, framing her elfin features. She was dressed in too big jeans held up with a sloppily, yet securely tightened belt. Her tank top was obviously a ripped boys teeshirt, but it was fitted to the girl as if she had been wearing it for a long time. A small pistol weighed down her pocket, and she fiddled with a pocket knife as she walked.

She couldn't be more than eleven, yet she barely regarded the decaying corpse with her pale blue eyes. Her eyes were intense, and unlike the rest of her they weren't at all expressive but were cold, like ice.

If you were to peer into her frozen orbs, you'd feel an electrical chill run through your body. It was if every shade of blue had knit themselves into one, making her irises seem like a white tundra, as if a blizzard was eternally raging on with a black void in the center that were her pupils.

Every member of the group both loved and feared her eyes, for they were identical to their formal leaders, the child's father. Judith despised her eyes, even if she caught herself vainly admiring them from time to time. Everyone would look to her as if she held the answers like her father would've, waiting to see if somehow he had lived on inside of his daughter.

"Hey, Daryl?" Judith asked, her voice ending the long silence. It was like a sigh of relief every time the girl spoke; her voice still carrying the light twinkle accompanied with childhood. The older man marching on ahead of her grunted in response, but the girl didn't seem put off by it, but encouraged. "When we's gonna stop?" She asks glancing at the older woman heaving a fairly light backpack beside her "I'm gettin tired."

The group knew that Judith wasn't tired, she still had the endless energy associated with childhood and was strong and hardened from all her life living on the road. However, Carol was sicker than ever with what the group assumed was some sort of cancer. Still, the rest of the group-Carl, Beth, Maggie and Glen-nodded as if they could also use a break to save the woman's pride.

Daryl slows to a halt in front of a decaying building that looked to formerly be a skate shop. "When are we going to stop" Beth corrects gently as she falls into pace with the younger girl.

"Ain't no difference" Judith replies with a shrug as she looks up at the rusting skate shop before her. She had grown up with no more English lessons than what the thick accented Georgians could teach her. The addition of Daryl being the main parental figure in her life didn't help much.

Daryl and Carl entered the store to check for walkers as the rest of the group waited outside. Judith's eyes floated up the store's sign in big bold letters reading: Surf and Skate. Her brow creased slightly as she looked over the words again. "S makes the ss sound" she mumbled to herself "SuRf an' Skate?" She asked Beth hopefully.

The blonde woman smiled. "Close" she said "Surf and Skate. You had it, just less emphasis on the r in Surf."

Carl, Judith's twenty five year old brother, exited the skate shop. He nodded, telling the group that it was clear. Judith held back a little, but she's was itching to get a better look at the beach themed shop. She dropped her bag and bedroll by the front counter and began her investigation in the back of the store. By the late evening light, Judith looked around the mangled shelves. Coming across a scratched and dirt coated glass case, she peered in the best she could.

"Whatcha find?" Carl asked as he came to stand behind his fourteen years younger sister.

"Don' know" Judith muttered glancing up at her brother before trying to rub circles in the filth of the glass. Finally in one quick move, Judith brought down her ringed finger against the glass hard. She leaned away from the breaking glass as it fell, then seemingly fearlessly reached in and pulls out a small black item. "What is it?" She asked turning the object over in her small hands.

Carl reached out and took the camera, smiling to himself as he looked it over. "That there is a camera. Polaroid, I think it's called. Prints out pictures right away" he explained.

Judith looked up at her older brother with a creased brow. "Pictures?" She questioned "like the one you got a' momma?"

Carl nodes and clicked a button on the device. "Yep. Ya got twelve picture left on it. Why don't cha go take a picture with Daryl and Carol" he said nodding to the sick woman and the redneck.

Judith smiled a rare grin and accepted the camera from Carl. "I'll go do that. Then one a' Maggie an Glen an' you an-"

"Naw" Carl said softly with a small smirk. "We'll all take a picture together, how 'bout that. But I want 'cha to save the rest of 'em for when it's important. You take it like this" he says showing her how to snap the picture.

The small girl nods and turns to where Daryl is rubbing some warmth into Carol's shoulders in front of the small can fire. Maggie was curled up in Glen's lap beside them, and Beth poked at the fire as she flipped through a book she's read at least a hundred times. Carl sits down beside Beth and wraps an arm around the older girl's shoulders, letting her head rest on his shoulder as she read her book.

With a small smile, Judith clicked the button on the top of the camera. With a shutter and a mechanical groan, a small white rimed picture emerged from the device. She pulled the picture the rest of the way out and looksd at it. The picture was a little distant, but warm and homey in strange way. Judith tucked it into the inside pocket of her jacket, knowing it was her most prized possession, nearly as important as the photo Carl had of her mother.

She goes to sit between Carl and Daryl, thanking the stars for her life instead of god because Daryl always said to believe in what you know to be true, and a man in the sky that made the world just to turn the dead against the living didn't seem true to Judith.

So she thanked the stars instead.

She thanked them for her family, only one of which was by blood. She thanked them for her mom and dad even though she never knew her mom and only knew her dad for a few short years. She thanked them for Carol especially, and thanked them for letting her leave this world soon that was so hard for her to live in. She thanked them for her new camera, and for the photo of her family that she loved so, so much.

Poets often describe love as an emotion that humans have no control over, one that overwhelms logic and all common sense. That's why every minute Judith spent with her family was seared into her memory. She'll never forget a single moment of it.

Love is to sacrifice for the another person. It's a promise to put them above yourself no matter what. Love is odorless, colorless and soundless, and there is no true evidence that it truly exists. Yet it always has been, and still is the strongest force in this world.

* * *

__Hi everyone! This is my first one-shot! It's about Judith as she grows up with the remainder of the group. __I'm probably not going to go into detail on how the group was split up, but they just are.__

_How'd ya like it? I love the idea of Judith growing up without ever knowing our world, and am trying to figure out how she would act. _

_I may turn this into a multi chapter fic, but if it does it will just be a bunch of one shots as Judith grows up. I hope you liked it and please leave a review if A) you want it to be a multi chapter fic, or B) cause you're awesome!_


	2. Chapter 2

A zoo?" Judith questioned halfway through her family's conversation. She hated that she had to interrupt so often, but every now and again they would get in the subject of the old world and Judith would have no idea what the hell they were talking about.

She looked up at the large entryway they walked under, scrutinizing the little animals carved in the bronze. Large pits, broken steel cages and abandoned buildings haunted the deserted fenced in courtyard. Styrofoam cups and cardboard plates were strewn about the brick paths along with bits of gore.

Carl falls into step with his younger sister. "Yeah, a zoo. People used to come here for the day and look at animals in the cages" he tries to explain.

"Animals in the cages" she says slowly, trying to understand. "Like squirrels, dogs, pigs and cows an' stuff? How'd they get there?"

He opens his mouth they sighs and frowns. "More than just that. Exotic animals like tigers, rhinos, penguins, stuff like that. People would capture them and put em in here so people could see them" he tries to explain.

Why would anyone lock up animals in cages for people to look at? There were plenty of animals in the woods and as pets-Carl had explained that concept to her last week. The young girl nods, still not fully understanding, and looks around in search of anything that could be of use. Her outfit could use some updating. The pair of too big jeans she wore had come to fit a bit more securely, but her brothers shirt she'd been wearing for the last few months...it has seen better days.

"We should set up camp here tonight" Maggie says nodding towards a large cage that once was a monkey enclosure.

She looks down at the dark haired, blue eyed, two year old holding her hand with a small smile. The child was her and Glens daughter, Elizabeth, and while everyone was happy for the two and that there was more hope in this world-they were cursing the day that every conversation with her would turn into twenty questions.

"No cover" Daryl grunts not breaking his stride. He glances back at the rest of the group-Judith, Carl, Beth, Glen, Maggie and Elizabeth-and smirks "And I ain't sleepin' in no cage" he adds.

Maggie, Glen, Beth and Carl all smile at this, like it was an old memory. Judith chooses not to question this one, knowing there was no explanation that would truly explain it. They chose to set up camp in an artificial den in the abandoned lions enclosure. It had a small pond filled with rain water and wild mushrooms growing.

"It ain't even dusk yet," Judith speaks up after she hooks her small hammock up between two boulders. She hefts her crossbow that Daryl has searched nearly a year for her to have and looks towards the mouth of the cave. "I'm gonna look 'round. See if there's somthin we can use. Maybe animals are still livin."

"Any animals you find'll be dead. Either eaten or starved" Daryl mutters from where he sharpens his arrows. He had become more closed off and gruff since Carol's death a few months earlier. He was just beginning to get back to normal. Judith just shrugs in response. She didn't tell him about the possibility of things going well anymore, just rubbed it in his face on the off chance it did go her way.

Glen stands and tugs on his jacket and grabs his knife and gun. "I'll come with you, I wanna get a look around" he says briefly kissing the top of his wife's he's and ruffling his daughters short bob of a haircut all little kids had.

Judith grits her teeth and resists the urge to roll her eyes but doesn't say anything. They always did that as if they were on a rotation. Anytime she wanted to do something alone that was more than fifty feet away from them, someone would always find an excuse to come with her. She knew it was to keep her safe, but she was twelve now and was able to take care of herself. Maybe not ready to be on her own yet, but she knew was definitely ready to go within a mile of her family without a chaperone.

"Yeah, whatever" Judith grunts as she walks out of the den without another word.

"I swear none of us ever taught her that word" Glen mutters just loud enough for the rest of the group to hear as he watches the twelves year old storm off.

Maggie smirks. "Don't have to. It's a teenager thing-basically hard wired into her. Now, go on but I wouldn't try to talk to her if I were you" she says smiling slyly at her husband.

He sighs and starts after his niece of all intents and purposes. He finds her kicking chairs and tables away from a blocked entry way of a gift shop. He doesn't say a word, but helps her make a path through the clutter. There isn't much in the gift shop aside from a few stuffed animals, maps of the zoo, empty containers and a few overpriced zoo teeshirts.

"Think Elizabeth'd want a, uh," Judith picks up a yellow and brown animal push toy and scrutinizes it. "a cheetah?"

Glen smirks and shakes his head. "A giraffe" he corrects taking the toy from her. "Good eye. She'd love a toy other than that raggedy doll she got" he says putting it his pack.

"Carol fixed her up that doll" Judith snaps fiercely, meeting his dark eyes with her icy orbs. She softens when she sees the same pain displayed on his face. She softens and turns away. Looking through a pile of forgotten tee shirts, she pulls a dark blue one out from the bottom. Judith pulls off her brother worn shirt, leaving her in a black tank top that's nearly plastered to her body, and looks at it longingly. With a sigh, she stuffs it into her pack and pulls on the new shirt. The neck was too tight and she makes mental note to cut it looser when she gets back to camp.

Glen is looking through one of the zoo maps when she turns around. "I'm fairly sure you won't see a giraffe in the wild. We could walk around and look at the pictures outside the cages 'fore it gets dark."

She begrudgingly meets his eyes and lets the remainder of her anger out with a sigh. They would never entertain her grudge, just ignore it until she couldn't fight back. She could get a fight out of Carl and Daryl sometimes if he was stressed enough though.

"Yeah, sure" she says pulling open a mini fridge beside the counter. She pulls out a bottle of coke that had long since gone flat and sticks it in her pack. "Gonna get a squirrel for the walk" she says starting out the door.

Glen takes his time looking through the rest of the shop and although he doesn't find anything of use, within the five minutes it takes him, Judith has shot a squirrel and is spearing it's charred meat onto her knife to carry with her. She stomps out the fire and the two walk on, Glen pointing out the name plates and pictures of all the animals.

"This is a, uh, grey wolf. From up north. Cute little mutts, aren't they?" Glen asks, nodding to the picture on the name plate.

He doesn't hear a reply, but he reads the short description of the wolves. Only after he scrutinizes the picture does he look up and see that his niece is fixated on something in what used to be the wolves enclosure.

"That's one of them" Judith says, her voice light with excitement and curiosity.

He looks out to where her gaze is focused and sees a small grey pup looking out from under a bush. The thing was a newborn by the looks of it; only a few weeks old.

"No way. C'mon Judy, if there's a pup there's a momma" he says tugging lightly at her arm. She-wolves were very territorial of their pups and could rip them both apart if they got too close.

She strains her neck and looks behind the bush where a wolf carcass was being teared at by a walker. "Not always" she whispers. She was talking about the wolf, but can't help the pang of sadness that she was too without her mother. An arrow drops the walker before Glen can look up. Judith approaches the whimpering creature and sinks down as she softy calls it. To Glens surprise, the creature moves forward slowly and trots curiously over to Judith.

"Of course, she would be the one to have a pet wolf in the damn apocalypse" Glen mutters quietly. He had to admit though, the thing could be a great asset if trained correctly. And it was kind of cute; big brown eyes, silvery coat, paws that were too big for it's small body.

Within minutes, the young, hunger weakened wolf has been fed and has fallen asleep in Judith's arms. "Hey, Glen" she draws out brightly.

He rolls his eyes as she matches his pace and they begin their walk back to the camp. "Hey, if you wanna go all warrior princess on me, go ahead. I'm all for having that thing if you can train it to hunt for us and protect us. But if it's dead weight, you know Daryl ain't gonna let you keep that thing" he says.

She scoffs. "Daryl's a softie under all that hair an' grime" she says looking down at the wolf pup with a small smirk. "I'll train him too. He needs a name...what was that guy in the Greek myths Maggie told me? The king of them all...? Zeus, that's it. His name'll be Zeus."

And so it was.  
No matter what Daryl said.

* * *

A/N: I have a bunch of future one shot ideas but let me know and ideas you have or what genre you want the next chapter to be. Thanks for reading and please review, I'll update today maybe if I get some feedback! :)

-Bella


	3. Chapter 3

The red zone was established long ago, less than a year or two after the beginning of the apocalypse, along with the yellow and the green zone. Red means stop. It always has and probably always will. In this case it meant there were a lot of walkers and to, of course, stop. It didn't always work out that way though, and somehow Judith and Carl ended up in the middle of the red zone with no backup. The walkers were closing in, and as experienced as her and her big brother were at dealing with walkers, and no matter how ferociously Zeus tore away at the undead, their end was seemed to become a very possible future. And just when all else seemed lost, a trains shrill whistle shocked even the walkers for a moment.

"The train, Jude" Carl exclaimed as he spun to take out another three walkers with Michone's katana. The owner of the weapon was no where to be see, somewhere lost in the forest with the rest of the group after they had gotten split up. "When it comes, you have to get on it."

She swallows hard and surveys the surrounding forty or so walkers. "Okay. We'll jump on an' get off a mile down an' keep lookin" she agrees with a grunt as she slams the but of her knife into a walkers for head and pushes another back with her foot.

"No, Jude. You're staying on, I'm only hanging on to the side for a second" Carl says kicking back a walker and slicing through another half dozen. "You're staying on till Treetop."

"Like hell I am!" Judith shouts back in shock and confusion. She gives him a look of horror and hurt that nearly breaks Carl's heart. To leave behind Carl like this and the rest of her family in middle of The Red Zone? That was insane. There was no way.

Carl gives her a long look, triggering a memory of her father giving Carl the same look as Rick told him to stay while he checked out the house when Carl was hurt. She was only a few years old at the time but she remembered the look. It was engraved into her memory.

"You're hurt and a liability" he shouts sharply as he drives his knife into the skull of another particularly aggressive walker. He told it like it was, like Daryl did, and Judith respected them both for it. She hated it when they sugar coated it, that left room for hope when there was none. She'd rather them tell it like was. "I'll find them and we'll join you as soon as we can. The train runs weekly. We'll be there by your birthday."

By the end of his sentence, he was screaming above the loud roaring of the train. The train shoots past like a bullet, whipping her hair around in a frenzy. She spots a section without a train car and whistles for Zeus. The wolf backs slowly towards his master, growling angrily at the enclosing dead. Knowing he would follow, Judith grips her pack and weapons tighter and leaps onto the speeding platform, Carl following after her. Zeus rips apart another walker before chasing after Judith. The train must've been going at least thirty miles an hour, but Zeus was fast. He leaped onto the platform, skidding only slightly before being steadied by Carl.

Zeus whimpers as he lays low on the platform, looking up at the brother and sister holding each other's gaze, sensing something was wrong.

"I saw people up further. You should join them" Carl say loudly over the screaming of the train. Judith, his baby sister that hasn't been out of his sight for more than a few hours since the day she was born, nods shakily. He reaches inside his shirt pocket and pulls out a tattered photograph. It was like the few Polaroid photos that Judith took with her camera, but she had never seen this one before. Without a word, he crushes her in a hug and slips the photo into her jacket pocket.

"I love you, Judith" he whispers in her ear, his voice nearly breaking as he pulls away from his baby sister. Only fourteen, yet all grown up. She was beginning to resemble her mother now. Long legs, dark, but curly hair framed her elfin features and dark freckles were scattered across her nose and cheeks. Her father's frozen eyes, knitted in concentration, stood out amongst her light skin. He soaks in her appearance, committing her to memory.

"I love you too" she mutters, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye with her tattered sleeve. For years all she wanted was to get away from her family, just to prove she could be on her own and be okay. Her wish was never granted, until now. And now all she wanted, after being trapped in that dark forest with only Carl and Zeus for days, was to touch her family and prove that they were still there, still breathing. Still HERE.

"Don't worry bout me Jude, I got more food now, I can move fast and climb trees. I'll be fine. I promise." He promised, which he never did except for once when he promised his dad that he would take care of Jude before he died. He slides towards the edge of the platform, his pack ready and weapons sheathed but ready. "I'll see you soon!" He yells over the noise and before she can reply, he leaps off, covering his head as he falls into a tuck. She doesn't dare blink until he stands, perfectly fine. After that, the train goes around a bend, and he disappears from sight. She was completely alone now for the first time on her life. Well, except for Zeus.

Forcing her mind off, she stretched out alongside the wolf and glanced around. The train was moving too quickly for walkers to get her, and she would wake up if the loud rhythmic pounding of the wheels on the tracks ceased. With a fistful of Zeus's silver fur, she fell into a restless sleep.

Before Judith's eyes were fully opened, she had pinned the person to the cold platform of the slowing train. Her eyes widened as her own icy blue orbs were dominated by his powerful deep blues. Zeus snarled as he crouched beside her, eyes narrowed at his new target. She yanks herself off of him, realizing what she was doing, and scrambles away, muttering something that makes Zeus stand down. She regards him with wide, shocked eyes as she steadies her breathing. The boy, the guy, looked similar to all those who grew up in the After; strong, lean, deeply tanned, with crookedly cut, shaggy hair. His was chocolate brown, and fell into his startling eyes.

"S-sorry" she mutters brushing her hair behind her ears; unused to speaking to anyone outside of her family and haven't done so in months.

He stands and watches her for an unsure moment before cracking an easy crooked grin. "No problem, really I mean it. Know what they say; let sleeping girls lie" he jokes with that same smile. She remains silent, unsure of what to say. He clears his throat and extends a hand down to her. "I'm Nick."

She pauses a moment before hesitantly accepting his hand, letting him pull her up slowly, not breaking eye contact. Judith heart jolts and she's unsure of why. There was no danger, no adrenaline pounding through her vein, she's not hungry or thirsty and she was just sleeping so she wasn't tired. "I-I'm Judith...Grimes" she replies slowly as she stands fully, wincing at the weigh put on her ankle.

His brow knits. "Are you hurt?" He asks meeting her eyes. She nods wearily, uncertain of his sudden trust in her and wondering if she is expected to reciprocate it. "Here, I'll take you to the medical car. Could keep your dog in one of the empty box cars."

"He's a wolf" she replies instantly. Zeus nuzzles alongside her leg territorially, glaring up at Nick. "And he'll be fine waitin here. Can handle 'emself. Stay, Zeus" she commands the creature. He licks her leg and slips to the ground, placing his muzzle on the platform with a sigh. She turns back to Nick. "But I ain't about ta turn down a medical car" she replies with a small smirk.

He smiles at her and her heart picks up speed again. It was starting to concern Judith, weird heart things were a symptom of Carol's cancer. He cracks a smirk as he glances at the ladder leading up the side of the train car then at her ankle.

"I know we just met, but can I interest you in a piggy back ride?" He asks arching his eyebrows questioningly with a shadow of a smirk on his face. They had just met and he expected her to agree to a piggy back ride, acting as if they had been friends for years? He seemed trusting, like it was natural. He must have been somewhere safe for a long time and maybe the train was safe too. What harm could a piggy back ride do anyways? Daryl had taught her to fight and she could take down Carl on a good day and that boy was pure muscle at this point.

'Yeah, it's a serious piggyback'. She shakes Daryl's voice from her head and smiles at him, a real one. "Yeah, sure." She says quietly.

He turns, and she hesitantly slips her hands on his shoulders. With a little jump, she wraps her legs around his waist and crosses her arms around his neck fully. He shifts to hold her weight. "You're kinda heavy, you know that?" He asks. Before, they told Judith, that was an insult. But now, it was a compliment of sorts. If you were skinny, you were weak. Sure, everyone was skinny nowadays, but those with muscle and didn't have visible ribs were the cream of the crop (as Maggie would say). He starts towards the ladder. "You with a group before?" He questions a moment later.

She nods, but remembers he can't see her. "Uh, yeah. My family. Last week or so it's just been me," she stops, considering mentioning her brother but doesn't. She needed to show she wasn't weak, that she was stronger than him. That he better not mess with her because she could take him down if she needed to. "They'll be comin, on the next train."

He starts up the ladder, and climbs it with ease despite the girl on his back. You needed to be strong to survive so it wasn't incredibly shocking, just a little impressive. Not that Judith would tell him that. She drops down once they're on the top of the train car. She didn't trust the wind with her on his back. They weren't going that fast and there was only a slight breeze, but she wasn't taking any chances. Death by falling in the middle of the apocalypse. Daryl would have a field day with it...after he had finished mourning, that is.

"So where ya headed, Grimes?" He questions, falling into step with the girl.

She glances up at him wearily, unsure of telling him the truth. He seemed, normal though. Like he was just making conversation. What harm could trusting him do? She could take him. "Treetop" she replies after a moment.

"Oh, my cousin's there. This train goes from Mountainside in North Carolina down to Fort Florida in southern Florida. We got direct stops at Treetop, Riverbend, and Vita. Should take bout 3 days to get to Treetop. My dad is the conductor so I'm always on board." He explains easily as he walk down the top of the train. "There are bout forty cars, and most people sit in the front on the roof during the day and some sleep up there. The weapons car is second, only certain people can keep theirs. As a personal favor, you can keep yours."

"Thank you" Judith says confused but grateful at why he would let a complete stranger be armed on his fathers train.

He nods. "Third car is my family's. We pulled out all the seats and that's where we stay. After that is the dining car, you can trade for food but usually you can get a little something for free. Then the medical car and then the sleeping cars and there are a few empty ones in the back. It's kinda rough in there, you gotta keep with people or it can get rough. A, uh, questionable group just boarded the other day."

Judith scoffed. She knew the type of group. There groups just wanted to steal and rape and murder because they could. "Who need sleep anyways" she joked. She could go nearly a week without sleep, she's trained herself. But it had already been at least two days since her last glimpse of sleep and she didn't know if she could make if that long again if she had to rest. Motion always kept her awake before.

"You can stay in my family's car. My little sister won't leave ya alone probably, neither will my older brother, but it'll be safe. Your clothes have seen better days too. We might have some you could have."

"Why are you doing this?" She asks him.

He looks over at her with a ruffled brow. "It's what people do."

"None of the people I've ever met before."

* * *

A one-shot that may have a part two, or might be picked back up later on. All one shots exist in the same universe, so characters will return. Leave requests for future one shots and let me know what you think of Nick. I would love to continue with a little romance with Judith and Nick, especially since she's never liked anyone before or been able to get close to anyone besides her family. Review pretty please and ill update asap. xoxoxo

-Bella


	4. Chapter 4

Judith was going hunting.

This wasn't a normal hunting trip, no, this was different. Judith would be gone for days and she would be going completely alone. She wasn't being taken by Daryl, her brother wasn't coming with her, Rosita wouldn't be tagging along. It would be all and only Judith for the first time in her entire life.

And she _couldn't wait_.

Her bag was packed-bedroll, medicine, food, water, weapons-and had more than enough extra arrows for her crossbow. Maggie had even given her her special bottle of whiskey. It wasn't real whiskey of course, well it was, but it was poisoned beyond belief. It had saved their lives more times than she could count. For emergencies, Maggie had told her.

They were currently staying at a safe town in North Carolina, a new one called Fort Raleigh. They never stayed at them for very long, only a few weeks at most. Daryl said they were too dangerous. Safe towns were a blessing for a while, but when they fell, they took everyone else down with them. So they only ever stayed long enough to rest, refuel and get more supplies before leaving again. Like Abraham said- _we keep moving_. They never stayed for more than a few weeks.

It was a perfect storm that allowed Judith to be able to go alone. Maggie and Carl were sick. It wasn't anything too terrible, just a cough that wracked their bodies and made them too weak to travel. The towns doctor said they would be fine, that they just needed rest. Judith was glad to give it to them. She would hunt and they could have their time to regain their strength. Glenn didn't want to leave Maggie while she was sick and little Elizabeth would be staying with her father, of course. Daryl had hurt something in his back, and while he insisted on coming with Judith at first, Glenn convinced him stay to rest so that it would heal and not continue to get re-injured. It also took a fair amount of begging on Judith's part.

"_Take this_."

Judith stopped short, rolling her eyes before she slowly turned back around. Glen held out one of the groups precious three walkie talkies towards the younger girl. "Take it."

"Glenn, c'mon." She drew, rolling her eyes. The walkie talkies were incredibly rare and important. She didn't want to be the one to ruin one them when she knew she didn't need it to begin with. "'S only a few days. And I said I'd only sleep in trees, didn't I?" She raised her eyebrows.

Glen held out the walkie talkie further. "You don't take it, you're not going." He said tiredly but simply, holding her gaze. Bags were heavy under Glenn's eyes and he looked exhausted. Wrangling an eight year old daughter and his sick wife was getting to him. Judith figured she would just let it be and give him his way.

She sighed and took the walkie talkie, muttering a "_whatever_," as she shoved it into her pack. Glen swore than none of them had ever taught her that word.

"You know the deal. We don't radio you unless you radio morning, noon and night." It has become a rule after one time when Carl had been hiding from a herd and the noise from the walkie talkie set the entire herd upon him. He had barely made it out alive. Since then the 'you radio first' rule was born.

She groaned, impatient to be on her way. She had waited seventeen years for this and didn't want to wait another minute. "Glen, please. I ain't a kid no more."

"And if you loose it, or if it stops working, you come back immediately." He continued as if she had never spoken. "If you're not back within a day after you last radioed, were coming to get you."

Her cool blue eyes met his warm brown ones. "I get it, alright?" She relented. "You're callin it. I'll follow all the rules, I swear."

His hard gaze softened as he looked at the girl. After her dad had died, him, Maggie, and Daryl had practically raised the girl like their own. Even though both her mother and father had died, no one thought of the girl as a real orphan. She had more family that most of the world at this point, and they all loved her like they were blood. She was as much his daughter as Elizabeth was, and realizing he was sending her off into this terrible world completely alone, he nearly dragged her home right there and then.

But as she stood there, her icy eyes wide and excited and biting her lip in anticipation, he couldn't bring himself to deny her this.

He sighed and stepped forward, wrapping the girl in a hug. She was only half a head shorter than him now and looked more like Lori everyday, all long legs and dark hair. She sighed into the hug, relenting, and hugged him back tightly. "Be safe." He said into her hair. "

You know I will be."

* * *

She heard him before she saw him.

It was something that Daryl taught her when she was just a child. She would be on his back as they went through the forest back in Georgia and he would teach her stuff as he walked for the both of them. He taught her how walkers and peoples footsteps sounded different in the forest. Walkers footsteps were careless and relentless and they never paused or stepped over things, they just plowed on. Peoples footsteps were calculated and steady and always much quieter than those of a walker. And these footsteps were definitely those of a person.

His were almost silent, like her own.

She was following the stream just inside the tree line, high on freedom and drunk on the sunshine when she saw him. He seemed to be about her age, maybe a bit older. The layer of grime covering him made it hard to tell. He was crossing the stream, coming in her direction but he hadn't seen her yet.

She disappeared into the trees before he had even gotten ankle deep in the water. She crouched in the bushes, not daring to breathe as she watched him. It was obvious just by looking at him that he was alone and wasn't heading in any specific destination. Just walking to get somewhere, not anywhere in particular, just like her. He didn't appear to be a threat, but looks could be deceiving. After all, Daryl always said that she was the deadliest weapon he had ever laid eyes on. _The legend of little ass kicker,_ he would say.

She wasn't sure what made her decide to follow him, but before she knew what she was doing, she was on his tail. And it wasn't too long before he noticed her either. It was surprising since Judith prided herself on being silent in the forest and a damn near perfect tail. That meant this guy was good. _Very good_.

He paused in a clearing, his jaw clenched before he marched off again, and she knew he was trying to shake her. He went through every trick Judith had ever heard of. He went through a river so he wouldn't leave any tracks. He tried to loose her in a field of wheat taller than her. He went through a huge open field where she was forced to move fast to get around the outside to catch up. Doubling back again and again. He was good, but she was better.

She was approaching an overpass when it happened. Along the long deserted, ivy covered overpass, the land sloped to a straight fifteen foot drop off. She paused, still hidden behind him in the thick brush, as she waited for him to get a head start on her. She watched him carefully shuffle down the decline slowly until the rocks began to give out under his weight, forcing him to lurch forward, launching himself off the drop off fifteen feet below. Judith held her breath as he narrowly missed a stop sign below and landed hard on his feet, the momentum forcing him to roll into a crouch, cradling his ankle.

He grimaced and groaned in pain, clutching his ankle tenderly. From afar, Judith judged that it was sprained, maybe even broken on the inside. Fractured-that's what Maggie called it. It was bad. Kinda wounds like that had people out of commission for months. He would die here if she didn't help him. Mentally cursing herself, she left the cover of the trees and stepped onto the hill, revealing herself.

His head snapped up and his dark eyes zeroed in on her, wide and alert. "Who are you?" He demanded. "Why are you following me?"

The moment the words left his mouth, another hiss escaped it and he cradled his ankle more gently. She sighed, ignoring his questions, knowing she was going to help him and that it would probably come back to bite her in the ass. She easily climbed down the hill, pausing on the edge to drop her pack and crossbow to the ground before scaling the wall and dropping to the ground a few feet from him.

"Let me take a look at it." She said with a sigh as she approach him. She kneeled down in front of him, meeting his dark eyes for a half a second before glancing down to inspect his ankle.

In an instant, he pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and snapped one cuff onto her wrist before she could even comprehend what was happening. She reacted immediately, swinging her fist towards his face but before it could connect, he snapped the other cuff onto the street sign pole. Her punch landed and she scrambled to grab onto him, but he just barely managed avoid her grasp and roll away from her.

He sighed in relief as he rolled onto his feet, brushing himself off as he stood up easily on uninjured ankles. Curses that would've made Daryl himself blush came spewing out of her mouth as she comprehended her predicament-trapped, no weapons in her possession, no way out. God, Daryl would be pissed at her.

She yanked hard against she handcuffs as let out a frustrated yell, eyes blazing as she glared up at the guy who had trapped her. She may not be related to Daryl by blood, but she definitely inherited his fear inspiring glare. "Oh, that's great." She snapped venomously. "Really, I'm _impressed_."

He scoffed, shaking his head in bitter amusement. "Those are my lines. Really, that was impressive tailing." He said genuinely with a congratulatory nod in her direction. A smirk pulled up the corner of his lips. "I'm just better."

He held her glare as fire blazed behind her eyes, exhaling slowly. She got a good look at him then. He was tall, almost as tall as Carl, and had broad shoulders and a strong jaw. He was lanky but built, like most people her age were, and tanned from spending long hours in the sun. With dark hair and even darker eyes, he was attractive in a rugged kind of way, not like Nick was with his clean face and easy smile. Maggie would've called him a looker. That didn't mean she trusted him, in fact, it meant the exact opposite.

The smile and ease faded from his features all at once. "Why are you following me?" He demanded. His voice was strong, powerful, but she could sense the slight edge under his words. He was used to being the best at what he did and didn't like it one bit that he had been bested by her. She knew because she felt the exact same way.

She clenched her jaw, refusing to answer his question as she examined him for a moment, trying to figure him out. Her gaze disturbed him. She looked at him as if he were the one chained and she were the captor. "Why don't ya just let me go?" She asked bitterly, flashing a sarcastic smile before it evaporated from her features completely. "We both know you ain't gonna leave me here."

"Really?" A shadow of amusement flashed across his face. He had a northern accent and she almost smiled. He may have the upper hand now, but hell, the south belonged to Judith. "And why's that?"

"Cause if you were, you would've done it already." She said bluntly, not missing how his eyes widened slightly. "Why bother chaining me up? Talking to me? Why not just shoot me? Why would ya leave me here with a chance of gettin free and comin after you, when you could end it all right now?" She raised her eyebrows. "You're not going to kill me. And I wasn't planning on killing you either, for the record. So just let me go."

He frowned, impressed. "Way to go, Princess. You don't mind if I call you that, do you? Unless you wanna tell me your name?" He raised an eyebrow and she glared in response. He chuckled. "Didn't think so."

He glanced down, clicking his tongue as he considered her words. He idly approached where she had stupidly dropped her pack and crossbow and picked it up and inspected it, seeming impressed. Judith visibly tensed. The crossbow was a part of her. Her and Daryl were the only ones who knew how to use them with deadly accuracy. It was her most prized possession.

He nodded as he held it up. "It's nice." He remarked as he inspected it. "Strong. Good weight. Nice arrows."

"Y_ou take it an' I'll kill you_."

Her voice wasn't that of a frantic and emotional teenager, but an even and deadly serious one of a trained killer. She didn't use the words as a threat, but as a simple fact. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she would too.

"Understood." He nodded in appreciation as he separated the arrows from the bow and approached her and set both not three feet out of her grasp. He was close enough for her to grab him, but when she lunged for him, he leaped out of her grasp like he had known when she was going to attack. She could tell he was one of those people who used their intelligence to make sure that no one knew exactly how intelligent they really were. And Judith kinda hated him for it.

"I can't have you following me, now." He smirked lightly like it was all a game. "So I'm gonna leave your arrows and your pack right here." He nodded to the supplies just out of her reach. "And I'm going continue on my merry way."

Judith managed to stand up, pulling the other handcuff up the poll with her. "And how am I supposed to get free? You know, since apparently you don't want me dead."

He gave that small smirk that said 'I know something you don't know' that infuriated Judith beyond belief. "C'mon, Princess. You tracked me for hours. I think you can figure a way out of this." Then he winked, infuriating her more than she thought possible. Without another word, he turned and disappeared from sight.

The moment he was out of sight, she pulled the knife from her boot and started sawing.

* * *

Her crossbow snapped half an inch from his face and he could feel her warm breath on his face. He hadn't even heard her coming. "Here to finish me off, Princess?" He remarked, not bothering to turn to look who it was. He knew it was her.

"What can I say? You're worth it."

Daryl always said that her smart mouth would get her killed. He was probably right. She kept the crossbow aimed at his head while she took his gun and his machete and made sure he didn't have any other weapons.

"You here to kill me?" He asked, sounding mildly curious. She shook her head. Not today. "Then why are you-" It was then that he noticed. Her breathing was labored and ragged and she stood strangely with her back hunched over. His defensiveness began to fade. "What happened to you?" He asked, edging a few centimeters away from the arrow tip to get a good look at her.

"Few guys came by a while after ya left. Weren't as nice as you."

Once it was clear she wasn't about to send an arrow into his skull, he shifted farther away and looked her over. Blood that didn't belong to her was splattered across her paling face and darker blood soaked through her shirt, plastering it to her back.

"And here I thought I made an impression." He drew, a smirk pulling up the corner of his lips.

She laughed once then winced. "You're funny when you're not trying to get me killed." Her smile turned serious again. "I'm here cause I need your help. Lost a lot of blood n' need stitches but I can't reach it. You're the only one round these parts that might not kill me." She met his eyes, searching. He could tell she wasn't used to asking for help and swallowing her pride was something she had never done before. He didn't speak right away, just looked at the girl with the avalanche of dark hair and icy blue eyes.

"I ain't gonna beg, but I'm gonna need an answer."

Then she didn't something that he didn't expect, and he prided himself on never being caught off guard. She handed him his weapons back.

And then he did something that she didn't expect. He said okay.

* * *

They took shelter in an abandoned house. She located the first bed she could and let herself sit down as she riffled through her pack. By the time he had secured the general area, she already had out antiseptic and a needle and thread. She refused to tell him that she had it all because Maggie packed a first aid kit for her like a mom packed her eight year old a lunch box. So she just shrugged and mumbled something about being prepared.

He sat down on the other side of the bed watching her set out the materials. She paused and glanced over at him, unsure. He breathed a smile and ducked his head respectfully and glanced away as she pealed off her shirt, hissing as it pulled away from her bloodied and tender skin.

She bawled up the shirt in her hand and sat with one foot on the floor, the other on the bed and her hair tucked away from her wound. Knowing she was done, he turned back around and looked at the gash along her now bare shoulder blade. They sat in a strangely comfortable silence as he cleaned the wound and went about stitching it up. The only noise was Judith's labored breathing.

The radio in her bag squawked and Judith cursed aloud before picking it up. It was past her nightfall check in. She hesitated, unsure whether to answer it or not but eventually sighed, then pressed the button. "It's me. I'm fine. Sorry something came up." She said into the receiver. She chewed her lip as she felt the 'something that came up' string another stitch through her skin.

"But you're okay?" Glenn's voice carried through almost immediately. Judith hesitated again and Glenn spoke again mere seconds later. "Jude, answer me." He sounded almost frantic. She rolled her eyes. God they were annoying sometimes.

She sighed and clicked the button again. "I'm fine but I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow." She replied, keeping the pain from entering her voice.

"You better." Came Glen's reply.

She shoved it back into her bag. "That's your name?" He asked, not sounding cocky for the first time since she met him this morning. "Jude?" She breathed a smile. It was strange having someone outside her family call her Jude instead of Judith. "That's too bad. I was starting to like calling you Princess."

She laughed once, making her instantly regret it as she grit her teeth in pain. "It's Judith." He sunk the needle back into her skin, making her stifle a moan. She exhaled shakily and began to breathe evenly again. "Judith Grimes."

He finished the last two stitches and tied the string before covering it in the anapestic from Judith's pack. He cleared his throat. "I'm Zach, by the way." He said as he covered the wound with a bandage. "Was that your group?"

She hesitated a moment. He hadn't killed her when she was tailing him or when she had threatened his life and he saved hers. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to trust him. "Yeah." She told him. It felt strange revealing things to a stranger.

He nodded. "Why aren't you with them?" He asked. "I'm done, by the way."

She nodded her thanks and pulled her shirt back on. "I'm, uh, on a huntin trip. They're at a safe town." She sat back down and pulled her pack onto her lap and began shoving her supplies back into it. "Where'd you come from?"

He shrugged. "Here and there." He gave an easy smirk. "Never here before though, actually. Maybe I'll check out that safe town of yours."

Judith had decided she trusted him for right now to an extent. But she didn't trust him at the safe town or around her family. Not around her brother or around Maggie and Glenn's eight year old daughter. She didn't trust anyone that much. She gave him a half smile and stood, tucked her dark waves behind her ear as she grabbed her pack. "I'm gonna take the other bedroom. Thank you for, uh, not killing me."

"Likewise, Princess." He said with a chuckle. "Think I'll crash here tonight too, if you don't mind?"

Judith raised an eyebrow and cracked a smirk as she loitered in the doorway. Her blue eyes sparkled in the day's final light. "I'll see ya 'round then?" She asked.

He laid back in the bed, kicking his feet up as he looked at her. "Sure thing, Princess."

* * *

The next morning, as early dawn light seeped through the dirty and torn curtains, Zach's eyes opened. There were two things he instantly knew without question. One: Judith Grimes was long gone by now. Two: his wrist was handcuffed to the metal headboard.

Scrawled across the wall opposite him, was a message;

_The south belongs to me, Princess _

He fell back into the blankets, grinning at the ceiling.

* * *

I was going to add more of a spacing between the introduction of Nick and that of Zach, but I couldn't help myself. Zachs character was calling to me. In the future, ill do more chapters with Nick in which Judith will be sixteen again. Some of these one shots exist in the same universe but others don't. Like how Carol is dead in the second chapter but she may return in future ones. Its all just one big clusterfuck but hey the rest of my life is so why shouldn't my writing be too? Lemme know what you think like/dont like/any ideas and i'll update as soon as i can. xoxo


End file.
